Display card holder



Feb. 16, 1937. F. E. ELMER DISPLAY CARD HOLDER Filed Dec. 2, 1936- Patented Feb. 16, 1937 UNITED STATES DISPLAY CARD HOLDER Francis-E. Elmer, Bronson, Mich., assignor to L.

A. Darling Company, Bronson, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application December 2, 1936, Serial No. 113,851

2 Claims.

This invention relates 'to' devices of the type commonly used for holding price and other cards for display purposes.

The card holding frames of these devices are usually composed of channel-bar stock bent into rectangular form with the channel opening in.- wardly and having a slot or opening through the cross-web of the top frame member to permit the insertion of cards therethrough into the chanm nels of the side and bottom frame members, as well understoodain the art.- The frame corners are usually -ofcrounded form, due particularly .to the bending of the frame from a single bar, thus providing the channel bottom of the lower frame bar with upwardly rounded ends. The display cards used in connection with these frames are ordinarily-square and when dropped into the holding frames one or the other of the lower comer points thereof invariably rests on the respective 2o curved end portion of the lower channel bottom, thus supporting the card in tilted position, or out of level or parallel relation with the lower frame bar. thus detracting from the appearance of the card displayed.

The object of the present invention is the provision, in connection with a card holding frame of the character described, of means for supporting engagement with the bottom of a card to prevent it from having tilting contact with the rounded frame comers, thus causing a card, when dropped into a frame, to assume a square or level relationship thereto.

- The invention is fully described in the following specification, and one embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a-perspective elevation 'of a card display device embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the card holding a frame of the device, with a part broken away and with a card mounted therein; Fig. 3 is an end edge elevation thereof; Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 in Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a bottom edge view of the frame.

5 Referring to the drawing, l designates a card holding frame of a display device embodying the invention, 2 the support'therefor, and 3 a display card mounted in the frame.

The frame I usually comprises a length of 50 channel bar stock bent into rectangular form with the channel thereof facing inwardly and with the ends of the bar secured together in any suitable manner, as by electric welding, so as to form a joint not ordinarily visible to the eye. The

55 top'member 4 of the frame has its channel botthrough the slot 5 and with its side edges disposed in the side channels and its lower edge disposed in the bottom channel of the frame. The bottom cross-bar of the frame is designated I and the channel therein 8.

The bending of the frame bar in rectangular form effects a rounding of the framecorners, so that the bottom of the channel 8 at the ends of the bottom frame bar 1 are upwardly rounded, as 5' shown at 9. It is found, in practice, that in dropping a square card 3 into a holder frame I, one I or the other of the lower pointed corners of the card will rest a greater or less extent on the curved corner portion 9 of the frame, thus eflecting an n objectionable tilting of the card. In order to prevent such tilting and to cause the card to automatically level itself with respect to the .frame, the bottom bar 1 is provided in the bottom of its channel with raised portions Ill of the same height, which are spaced lengthwise of the bar and form supports on which the lower edge ofthe card rests. These raised supports, in the present instance, are formed by an upward striking of the metal in the channel bottom and are preferably 30 of a height equal substantially to the height of one-half of the are forming the lower corner portions 9 of the frame. In other words, the tops of the supports ID are disposed in a. horizontal plane which intersects the lower corner arcs substanas tially midway of their ends. The purpose for this is that the upper half of each corner are 9 is of such a steep nature that the corner of a card, upon striking the same, will slide down to a point which permits the lower edge of the card to rest on each 60 g of the supports ill. It is thus apparent that even though a card is dropped into the frame out of centered relation to the frame horizontally thereof, the card will seek and assume a level position on the supports i0 and will be substantially centered with respect to the frame horizontally or lengthwise thereof by the coaction of the lower card corners with the steep upper end portions of the lower comer arcs. It is found, in practice, that this automatic centering and leveling feature of the card with respect to the frame is quite an important features of card holes of this character.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to any specific construction, arrangement or form of the parts, as it is capable of numerous 66 modifications and changes without departing from the spirit of the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by United States Letters Patent.-is:

1. A card holder of the class described, comprising a frame of rectangular form having its sides, top and bottom members of inwardly. facing channel form. the upper member having a slot throughout its length through the bottom portion of its channel-for the insertion, of a card into the frame, the bottom of the channel of the lower frame member being upwardly curved at its ends and having raised card rests intermediate s'aid ends to support a. card in level position with respect to the frame.

1A cardholder frsmeoftbeclass-described.

a bar forming a rectangular frame with a con-- tinuous inwardly facing channel in its side, top and bottom members, the channel bottom of the top member being slotted throughout its length to permit the insertion of a card into the chan nels of the frame members, the bottoms of th channels of the side and bottom members jotm'o in curved lines forming corner arcs, the chenne bottom of the lower member having card supports projecting upwardly therefrom in spaced relation lengthwise thereof and terminating in a pla'ne which intersects said corner arcs substantially midway of their ends, whereby a card when dropped into' the frame rests on said support and assumes a level position with respect to 5 the frame.

FRANCIS 1!. Emma. 

